Operational status of the methanol downstream sector
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Composition of methanol consumption / in 10,000 tons Product name Formaldehyde DME MTO/MTP Methanol fuel Acetic acid MTBE Others Total 2014 Methanol 1230 710 630 500 290 260 479 4099 Percentage% 30.0 17.3 15.4 12.2 7.1 6.3 11.7 100 2015 Methanol 1302 490 1866 600 239 128 633 5258 Percentage% 24.8 9.3 35.5 11.4 4.5 2.5 12.0 100
In 2015, China’s apparent consumption of methanol was 52.58 million tons, an increase of 11.59 million tons compared to 2014’s 40.99 million tons, representing a growth rate of 28.28%； The position of formaldehyde, which accounts for the largest share in methanol’s downstream applications, has been challenged and is being replaced by olefins.
You haven’t included coal-based ethylene glycol and dimethyl carbonate in the statistics.
Very little methanol is used in ethylene glycol production; methanol serves only as an intermediate in the reaction process.
Main principles of the coal-based ethylene glycol production process: Carboxylation to form oxalate ester: 2CH3ONO + 2CO → (COOCH3)2 + 2NO; Regeneration of the ester: 2NO + 2CH3OH + 0.5O2 → 2CH3ONO + H2O; Hydrogenation of the oxalate ester: (COOCH3)2 + 4H2 → (CH2OH)2 + 2CH3OH; Overall reaction: 4H2 + 2CO + 0.5O2 → (CH2OH)2 + H2O
During 2015-2016, the total domestic production capacity for ethylene glycol is expected to reach around 13 million tons
Now the downstream market is dominated by olefins; formaldehyde belongs to the traditional downstream sector and is no longer viable.